Free Comic Book Day 2006 Guide

Everyone likes free books, right? We at IGN might get free swag all the time, but for most of you, free comics come once a year, and that's at Free Comic Book Day. FCBD 2006 is this Saturday, May 6 and we have created this handy little guide so you know what to expect and what to snag. Some stores have limits on how many books you can pick up for free, so we've created a handy list of what we think will be hot. We've also created a quick FAQ for those of you who have never even heard of this wonderful comic nerd holiday. Enjoy the guide, and get down to your local shop for some free goodies this Saturday!

FCBD FAQ

What is Free Comic Book Day? Pretty simple explanation here: it's a day where comic book retailers give out free comic books!

They don't make me buy something else first? Why are they giving away comics? Nope, you get books for free, no strings attached. The idea is to promote the industry and encourage readers to buy titles they might not ordinarily buy. With comics increasing in price every year or two, free comics have never been so useful - to readers, retailers and publishers!

Is this event on the same day every year Unfortunately it is not. The industry shifts the date around depending on what is happening that year. Sometimes it is set to coincide with a major comic movie release (it has been timed with movies like Spider-Man in the past), but this year it is standing alone.

Are there any other events like this? Not really. Free comics are pretty rare, as is a nation-wide effort like this. Retailers are also likely to have sales and other promotions to coincide with this, but that's up to the individual retailer.

Is there anything else I should know? Keep in mind that the whole point of getting free comics is to experience new things. Marvel and DC are giving away comics as well, but if you must get their stuff, try some new things as well. We would also recommend bringing some of your non-comic book friends down to the event and trying to hook them on some titles. Finally, some of these titles are going to be hard to get (the smaller press titles mainly), so it might be a good idea to get there early. Some retailers are going to limit the number of free books you can take, which is why we created our guide.

Wait, why are you only recommending small press?! Because we feel that the best type of free comic is one that you have not even heard of. Marvel is offering a new Runaways/X-Men comic and DC is offering reprints of Justice League Unlimited and Superman/Batman. You've seen these comics, or ones like them, before. The entire industry is dominated by these books, so give something fresh a shot. And if you're just dying to get the Marvel and DC stuff, we're sure there will be plenty of copies left for you to snag.